What's Possible for a Human Being to Achieve?

by Jatinder Singh, Associate Partner, Lighthouse International

"Struggling and suffering are the essence of a life worth living. If you’re not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you’re not demanding more from yourself – expanding and learning as you go – you’re choosing a numb existence. You’re denying yourself an extraordinary trip.”

– Dean Karnazes

Have you ever watched a YouTube video, read the news or heard about something that stretched your imagination of what human beings can achieve?

Ultramarathon runners like Dean Karnazes are an example of this; Dean has run 350-mile races lasting 4 consecutive days without sleep while Scott Jurek has run 166 miles in one day!!!! In fact there’s a close-knit group of runners like these men who regularly run distances that make our mind boggle (an ultramarathon is any distance over 26.2 miles).

I love the quote above because it shows that legends are just normal people who push themselves harder than the average person because they want more from life. They are willing to make the sacrifices needed in order to achieve what they want. They are willing to stay disciplined and true to themselves when others are not.

However, they don’t start as legends! As Dean Karnazes openly admits; before taking up running, he had issues with alcohol in his youth and his life was unfulfilling. However, he made the decision to change that…...will you?

Be sure to check out this really inspiring 4 minute video of Dean Karnazes talking about breaking out of our comfort zones to live a life worth living...

What small goal can you achieve today, that will enable you to build trust in yourself? Could you go for a short run? Clean your room? Start to read that book that is still untouched on your bookshelf!?

Not all things that start to build discipline in ourselves require life-changing decisions now...start small and build up...